Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

Did Russia play a decisive part in the US fight for independence?

Being influenced by her correspondence with French enlightenment philosophers, P/russian Empress Catherine the Great was sympathetic to the American fight for freedom.

In 1780, Russia proclaimed the policy of 'armed neutrality', which meant that its ships would fight back if the British Navy tried to stop them from crossing the Atlantic. Russia patrolled near New York and San Francisco for 10 months in the Civil War.

More than that, George III (the British King) asked Catherine to send a 20,000 strong battalion to America to fight against the revolutionaries - a plea that was refused.

The King tried to bribe Catherine by offering the island of Menorca in the Mediterranean Sea in exchange for convincing France to exit the war, which would force the American rebels to fight alone. And again, the offer was turned down.

Read more on the way Russia supported freedom for the US colonies.